How to Deal with a Mouse in the House

If a new car is in your future you may want to wait for this. Coming to you from India.

The Tata Nano was introduced in 2009 and sells for about $2,500 in other parts of the world. It will need to be fully redesigned to meet U.S. emissions and safety standards. It also will be upgraded to include some basic convenience features such as heat and cup holders.

Don't know why it needs a heater? Cup holders, of course.

While on a cruise I noticed the handle of Wanda's brush glows in the dark. Why? You can find it but can't see to use it unless you turn on a light.

We had a little excitement here.

You may know we have three cats of our own and Silvia, the constant visitor. They are creatures of habit so when they exhibit strange behavior I pay attention. Actually Wanda noticed it first, Steve was spending a lot of time in front of the refrigerator. After checking a few places I discovered some mouse droppings in the garage. We had a mouse, and a stupid mouse at that. What kind of a mouse goes into a house with four cats?

We talked about our options, various traps and such, we decided to call our pest control company in the morning. I was hoping one of the kitties would find the damn thing and be done with it. Honestly, I doubted that would happen. Casper is much too old, Dakota is half blind as well as too old. Silvia was unconcerned and Steve is a tad overweight and slow. 

I'm a wuss. The thought of using any type of trap bothered me.

Since we didn't know the There's a Mouse in the House protocol, we improvised. I moved things away from the walls in the garage, that's about it. We couldn't think of anything else to do so we went to bed.

I woke up around six, Wanda was getting ready to exercise using the Wii. She told me Steve had spent the morning staring at a wall in the bedroom. He was looking between a bookcase and a table. Both the pieces are slightly raised, maybe two inches off the floor. 

Slowly I moved the furniture away from the wall. Then, with flashlight at the ready, I got down on my hands and knees. I didn't see anything under the table but when I looked under the bookcase I saw a large mouse in the far corner. He looked very uncomfortable.

I kept the light on the mouse while I took everything off the bookcase. I got Wanda, a broom, a large plastic bucket, a plastic bag, and 2 cats.

We formed a plan of attack. 

We took two throw rugs off the floor and put the two cats on it. I was going to slide the bookcase out of the bedroom. I thought the mouse would stay under it. Where I was going and what I would do when I got there wasn't clear. Not a great plan, I admit. Before starting I had one request of Wanda, "Please, do not scream like a little girl, you know you'll want to."

Very slowly, I moved the bookcase a few inches. The cats ran out of the room, the mouse ran out of the bookcase and the room. Wanda screamed like a little girl then chased the mouse down the hall. The front door was open the screen door was closed, which stopped the mouse. Wanda flung the screen door open and the mouse ran out of the house.

Two cats were perched on their cat condo watching. 

I thought I heard one of them laughing.

from an original post 10/30/2012